Lusophone

Nations in which Portuguese is an official language (de facto or de jure). Lusophone countries are a subset of those where Portuguese is the main native language.

  Native language

  Official and administrative language

  Cultural or secondary language

  Portuguese speaking minorities

  Portuguese-based creole

Lusophones (Portuguese: lusófonos) are people who speak the Portuguese language, either as native speakers or as learners. Similarly, the Lusosphere or Lusophony (Portuguese: Lusofonia) is a community of people who are culturally and linguistically linked to Portugal, either historically or by choice. The idea of a Lusosphere is free of ethnic connotations, in that a Lusophone may not have any Portuguese ancestry at all. The Lusophone world is mainly a legacy of the Portuguese Empire, although Portuguese diaspora and Brazilian diaspora communities have also played a role in spreading the Portuguese language. Even after the collapse of the empire, the corresponding countries continue to exhibit both cultural and political affinities, expressed in the existence of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), created in 1996.

Contents

• 
  1 Etymology
  


• 
  2 Officially lusophone countries
  


• 
  3 See also
  


• 
  4 References
  


• 
  5 External links
  

Etymology

The term Lusophone is a classical compound, whereby the combining form "Luso-" derives from the Latin term for an area roughly corresponding to modern Portugal, called Lusitania.^[1] The suffix "-phone" derives from the Ancient Greek word φωνή (phōnē), meaning "voice". The use of the term Lusophone mirrors similar terms, such as Anglophone for English-speakers, Francophone for French-speakers, Hispanophone for Spanish-speakers, and Sinophone for Chinese-speakers. The term is sometimes used in reference to the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, similar to the Francophonie.

Officially lusophone countries

Country	Population (July 2017 est.)[2]	More information	Status
Brazil	207,353,391	Portuguese in Brazil	Spoken by the vast majority as a native language
Angola	29,310,273	Portuguese in Angola	Spoken by a significant minority as a native language, and by the majority as a second language
Mozambique	26,573,706	Portuguese in Mozambique	Spoken by a significant minority as a native language
Portugal	10,839,514	Portuguese in Portugal1	Spoken by the vast majority as a native language
Guinea-Bissau	1,792,338	Portuguese in Guinea-Bissau	Spoken by a significant minority as a native language
East Timor	1,291,358	Portuguese in East Timor	Spoken by a minority as a second language
Equatorial Guinea3	778,358	Portuguese in Equatorial Guinea	Spoken by a significant minority as a native language
Macau2	601,969	Portuguese in Macau	Spoken by a small minority as a native language
Cape Verde	560,899	Portuguese in Cape Verde	Spoken by the majority as a second language
São Tomé and Príncipe	201,025	Portuguese in São Tomé and Príncipe	Spoken by the vast majority as a native language
Total	c. 279 million	Community of Portuguese Language Countries

Notes:

1. Some linguists such as Lindley Cintra and Teixeira de Pascoaes argue that Galician, spoken in Galicia, is merely a dialect of Portuguese rather than an independent language; this would make northwestern Spain a part of the Portuguese-speaking world.^{[citation needed]}
   


2. 
   Macau is not a sovereign nation. It is one of the two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China (the other being Anglophone Hong Kong, a former British colony).


3. 
   Equatorial Guinea adopted Portuguese as one of its official languages in 2007, being admitted to CPLP in 2014. The use of the Portuguese language in this country is limited. However, a Portuguese-based creole language, Annobonese Creole, is used, mainly on islands of Annobon and Bioko.^{[citation needed]}
   


4. 
   15% of Uruguay's population speaks Portuguese (in the northern regions near Brazil) as a native language though it is not an official language.^[3] This makes Portuguese the second most spoken language of the country. A number of Uruguayans living near the Brazilian border also speak a mixture of Spanish and Portuguese called Portuñol.^[4] A similar blending of Portuguese, Spanish, and Guarani (Jopara) occurs along the border with Paraguay.

See also

• 
  Language portal
  

• Geographic distribution of Portuguese


• Lusitanic


• Lusophobia


• Lusophone literature
  
  
  
  • Angolan literature
  
  
  • Brazilian literature
  
  
  • Latin American literature
  
  
  • Portuguese literature
  
  
  
  


• Lusophone music


• Lusophone name

References

1. 
   ^ "lusophone, adj". OED Online. Oxford University Press. September 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2014..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
   


2. 
   ^ "The World Factbook -- Field Listing - Population - CIA". Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
   


3. 
   ^ The Portuguese Dialect of Uruguay (DPU) is spoken by circa 15% of the Uruguayan population according Juan Pedro Mir, director of education of the Ministry of Education and Culture of the country. pgl.gal (19 August 2017)
   


4. 
   ^ O dialeto fronteiriço do Uruguai: origens, investigações e oportunidades Archived 27 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine Espaço acadêmico. Retrieved 17 December 2010
   

External links

Look up Lusophone in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• 
  Words Without Borders explores Lusophone literature in translation


• 
  "lusophone.org" free email for Portuguese-speakers around the world


• 
  Flavours of Lusophony (in Portuguese)
  

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